Lotus Europa, Fantastic Little Car!

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DQuaN

DQuaN

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I was pleasantly suprised by this car. I don't think I would have given it a go if it wasn't for the Lotus manufacturer races. I was really pleased with the way it handles: NOT ONE OUNCE of understeer! Whether breaking, accellerating or just coasting, it turns in beautifully. And the rear end always stays in check!

I suggest you try out this car if you haven't already.

I will definatley be using this car alot more. 👍
 
I haven't driven it yet but that's exactly what I was expecting from a Lotus. That car is on the top of my "GT4 priorities list".
 
Hmmm. I liked it but found I kept getting caught out by momentum oversteer in medium to fast bends, which was instigated by either lifting off, or harsh steering inputs. It was a trait that I tended to use to mu advantage when I could because it reacted instantly to a slight lift, which is very nice, but on faster corners it got away from me a little bit too quickly. Also, I felt that the Elan outgrips it, and is more benign too. Love both of them though. In real life the original Elan is famous for its handling and grip, and yet what I have read about the Europa, esp. the Twin Cam version modelled in the game, actually was a sweeter handling and grippier car. In GT4, it's the other way around. Makes me wonder if the Elan's reputation earned it its elevated GT4 handling qualities.

If you enjoy the Europa's adjustability I would bet you will also enjoy the Lancia Stratos and Alpine A110, both of which manage to combine a good turn in with plenty of plenty of exploitable lift off oversteer.
 
I'm with ya on that, it was one of the ones that took me by surprise as well. I had no clue the car was so small either, the pictures I had seen of it before did it no justice on its small size. Good things come in small packages is right!
 
Yeah the Europa was a huge suprise for me too! It handles almost impeccably, and is quite nippy too! Hmmmmm....I'm going to race in it now :)
 
ive been a fan of the lotus europa since GT2, and was gutted that it wasnt included in any other game till now. on gt2, it was a peach to drive then, and i expect it will be better now. max it out, and watch it fly!
 
I thought it had one of the best car sounds in GT2 as well. It's a shame it didn't keep it for GT4.
 
As a big anime lover, one of my first priorities on GT4 was to acquire every anime-related cars, so, I've started with an Initial D garage and, afterwards, the éX-Driver cars. So I've got a Caterham, a Lancia Stratos and, finally, a white Europa. And it turned to be one of my fav cars to drive (along with the Suzuki GSR-X/4). Very nimble, well balanced, with a beautiful engine sound. An absolutely "must-have" car for everyone.
 
I really like the Europa as well: fairly quick, very easy to make it drift, but always controllable => excellent! :dopey:👍
 
I agree with previous posts. Didn't really know much about the Europa until GT2, but couldn't wait to get my hands on it for GT4. Liftoff oversteer is one of the most satisfying things ever with this car. Apricot Hill is my favorite place for that sort of thing.

I also really like the "Silvia Sisters" prize car, a Sileighty. Looks and sounds really good, but has plenty of slidability.
 
I'm going through all the manufacturer's races right now (the Opel Speedster races almost made me throw my DFP through the window :crazy: :grumpy: :dopey: ). The Europa was a blast to drive, and as with everyone else, it caught me totally off guard. On the one city track that's laid out similarly to New York (Seoul? I forget ... :indiff: ), I screwed up a few times on my first attempt and came in 2nd about 2 seconds behind. My second try was much better. On one lap where you take a 90* turn and head south (let's pretend you started out going north) into a long straight, I literally drifted at a 15* angle past 2 cars and carried at least 10 mph better than the AI cars. That was one of my "racing nirvana" moments. 👍 :D

But then I tried the same move the next time around to pass the lead car only to get TOO sideways and overcorrected too much. :scared: But then I blew by him through the next chicane and whipped up on him by 3 seconds. :) Which is, what, a below average win? :sick: :nervous: :D

Dangit, now I want to leave work and play some more GT4. :lol:
 
Heh, I was just thinking about making a topic like this a couple weeks ago. When I first took this car for a drive to beat the lotus manufacturer race, I was blown away. I couldn't believe how well this car handled. As I got used to the car I was able to go through the same corners faster and faster each time. Great braking, great cornering, great car!
 
Believe it or not, my dad used to have a Europa in real life! He bought it wrecked when he was in college, and fixed it up. It was a pain in the ass because he had to make his own fiberglass moldings to make a new bumper, hood, and fenders. I have pictures of him washing the car, the roof only comes up as high as his belly button! (and he's only like 5'7") He said the car was a blast to drive; it's too bad they are ugly as sin. Can anyone say "baby El Camino"? The reason they are so amazing is because of the weight distribution, aka MR.
 
Hahah, agreead on the ugly note! Major influences in modern Lotus deisgn though. Check the front end, and the front end on the Elise, and you've got yourself a match. They just "forgot" to redesign the back end of the car for some reason :confused:
Great car in GT4 👍
 
Sorry to break the trend........but I can't stand the Europa.
I found those races nothing more than a pain in the rear. It was a long time ago that I last used it, so I can't really remember what it was about it I didn't like.

However I did tuen the car, so I might try it standard to see if the tuning runied it overall feel fo the car.
 
I tried to open a thread about this car about a month ago but it got rejected for some reason. I agree that it was the most pleasant surprise of GT4. I never expected such an UGLY car to be so nimble on the road. It's an absolutel joy to drive. I figured since it's already such an eyesore, the spoiler I slapped on it wouldn't hurt it a bit. After tweaking the settings, I created the funnest car to drive in the whole game, imo.
 

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